The Institute for Rare Earth Elements and Metals has been determining prices for all rare earth elements, their oxides, base metals, minor metals, exotic metals, and stable isotopes since 2011.
From this database, we create valuations and bank audits for all metals and elements in these groups. We analyse metals at the highest technical level and arrange the transport, storage and insurance of high-purity metals. Since 2019, we have been operating a trading platform for rare earths and high-purity metals. We support the monetization of valuable metals.
Introduction
Many people are unaware of the tremendous impact of rare earth elements on their daily lives, but it is almost impossible to use a piece of modern technology that does not contain them.
The 17 rare earth elements are needed in numerous high-tech areas, from cell phones and LED televisions to modern medicine and electric and hybrid engines, which are intended to to reduce dependence on oil.
China, which is by far the largest supplier of these essential elements has already drastically reduced export quotas for rare earths, and further reductions are expected in the near future.
The Institute for Rare Earth Elements and Metals (ISE) was founded to reduce dependence on Chinese exports and promote clean mining. Headquartered in Switzerland, the company has offices in six countries, including a recently opened office in Dubai. It boasts state-of-the-art facilities and experts specialising in precious metals, minor metals, rare earth elements, soil samples, and high-purity industrial products.
The Institute acts as an advisory centre and network platform. In addition to comprehensive information on rare earths, it also offers professional research analyses on deposits, mining projects, and stock investments.
ISE aims to bring suppliers, buyers, and investors together to exploit the economically critical resource of rare earths outside of China.
Identifying a gap in the rare earths manufacturing process
The Institute for Rare Earth Elements and Metals (ISE) was founded in 2008, when a group of leading experts was brought together in an exclusive contract with large industrial companies to solve bottlenecks in production processes in the field of rare earths.
Over time, so much data was collected that in 2011, the Institute for Rare Earth Elements and Metals was incorporated as a registered association in Düsseldorf and began serving as an information hub.
The non-profit organisation became a public corporation, which expanded its national field of activity to become a globally active and well-known company in high-security storage, metal analysis, and metal validation.
In 2013, increasing enquiries regarding the value of various metals led to the decision of the ISE to use its organically grown network to regularly explore and provide prices for around 800 metals from the entire value chain online in real time.
In 2019, the ISE expanded to 7,400 different elements and installed one Glow Discharge Mass Spectrometry analytic unit, which can determine a metal’s purity with up to 99.99999% accuracy. In the same year, the ISE trading platform went online.
Buyers and sellers of metals now had a trading platform where ONLY verified persons trade and verified goods were offered.
Why is metal analysis important?
An ISE metal valuation gives shareholders an indication of their negotiations to sell or credit metal to potential buyers or banks. In addition to the analysis, a metal valuation is the basis for the sale of goods.
Trustworthy and valued rare earth analysis for shareholders
For a network of contacts that has grown organically over decades, the Institute updates prices daily for around 9,500 different metals. Several hundred companies in production, mining, processing, buying and selling, brokerage and trading provide data on prices, sales volumes, sales locations, and dates.
From this data, the company provides reliable, daily updated prices for rare earths, strategic metals, base metals, and isotopes.
Rare earth analysis is carried out in laboratories that are regularly checked and repeatedly confirmed in accordance with the ISO standard DINEN ISO 9001.Through its collaboration with its analytics partner, the Institute has access to a wide range of modern equipment and a large number of well-trained chemists. Metal analysis takes five to seven working days.
Procedures for assessments process based on market prices
In the market price-oriented valuation method, the observable price for the asset or liability to be valued is to be used in an active market. However, the use of current market prices requires an active market that fulfils the following conditions:
- The products traded on the market are homogeneous
- Buyers and sellers willing to contract can usually be
found at any time - The prices are available to the public
Capital value-based procedure
The capital value-oriented method is based on the assumption that the fair value of the valuation object is measured by its ability to generate future cash flows.
Against this background, planning and research are |an essential part of the assessment and should, as far as possible, be derived from, or at least compared with, publicly available information. This also applies, in particular, to the assumed life or useful life of the valuation object.
To determine the fair value, the present value of the incoming and outgoing payments of the valuation object is determined. The discount rate used for this takes into account both the time value of money and the specific risk of the payments to be assessed.
With the regularly applied risk premium method, the risk-adjusted capitalization interest rate must be based on a return requirement derived from the capital market as a reference value.
Cost-oriented procedure
The cost-oriented method determines the fair value of the relevant valuation object by determining the costs necessary for the manufacture, procurement and commissioning of the asset.
In principle, reproduction costs or replacement costs can be used in this process. Reproduction costs include the costs required to produce an exact duplicate of the asset being valued, while replacement costs include the costs of producing a utility-equivalent asset.
If necessary, the extent to which discounts are to be made to account for technical, physical, and/or economic obsolescence must be checked.
The historical acquisition or production costs can be an initial indication of value. However, it can regularly be assumed that replacement costs – provided they are observable on the market – represent the upper limit.
How metals are analysed
The company’s expertise covers a broad spectrum of materials. ISE accepts common metals, rock samples, gold, precious metals, and high-purity metals for analysis.
Whether dealing with common industrial metals or rare and precious elements, ISE can perform accurate and thorough analyses, ensuring you can rely on the results for important decision-making.
In the laboratories, samples are analysed according to your requirements using GD/MS, ICP/MS, ICP/OES, XRF, REM and many more. All ISE’s laboratories are ISO certified and registered with most associations.
ISE analyses precious metals, minor metals, rare earth elements, soil samples, and industrial products up to the high-purity range. Each metal analysis unit is available twice in the laboratory, so there are no long waiting times if something fails.
ISE also values the metals it analyses, offering clients a summary that reflects the price of the smallest unit or a metal audit that calculates the fair value of an entire lot in accordance with IFRS13.
GD-MS Spectrometers: Fast analysis without downtime
The ISE laboratory is equipped with two modern Glow Discharge Mass Spectrometry (GD-MS) spectrometers, enabling continuous and prompt comprehensive metal analyses.
GD-MS provides exceptional sensitivity, allowing the detection of trace elements at very low concentrations. This is crucial for analysing rare and high-purity metals, where minor impurities can significantly impact material properties.
This method offers accurate quantitative analysis of multiple elements simultaneously, eliminating the need for multiple testing methods. One of the primary advantages of this spectrometer is minimal sample preparation, which reduces contamination risk and preserves sample integrity.
Additionally, GD-MS has a wide dynamic range, allowing the measurement of elements present at both high and low concentrations in the same sample. These features ensure accurate, reliable, and comprehensive data required for advanced process applications.
Customised client packages for real-time quotes
The ISE website offers customised client packages with up to 12 months of coverage. It allows the tracking of prices for more than 900 metals and more than 9000 metal products of different qualities and from different countries of origin.
The goal of the Institute for Rare Earth Elements and Metals is to provide seamless and comprehensive support, enhancing the operations of the client’s business and contributing to its success.
The Institute is committed to excellence in metal analysis and offers unrivalled expertise and support to the metals industry.
Worldwide expansion of ISE services
The Institute for Rare Earth Elements and Metals has over 8,000m2 of space in high-security warehouses in Switzerland. These are mostly free zones for handling global goods traffic. It also has access to 3,000m2 of national storage space. Selling goods internationally from free-zone storage is pleasantly simple, as the tax considerations in contracts are completely eliminated.
With our headquarters in Switzerland, representative offices in six countries, a global network, 80 employees, and an eight-digit annual turnover, ISE is a healthy, medium-sized company that is strong enough to take on challenges and yet flexible enough to respond to individual needs.
Recently, ISE also expanded its offices to the United Arab Emirates in a strategic move that extended its global reach and service offerings. The centres are located in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, where there are many high-security facilities and open facilities.
In order to create a complete documentation of a product, it is fundamental to record the sampling, which is ultimately the basis for all further documents. In the past, this often failed because the goods from the UAE rarely arrived in Switzerland or the journey of an ISE employee to the UAE was too expensive. By taking over existing laboratory management,
ISE now provides a full range of services, including storage, metal analysis, sampling,
and reporting. In the future, the certification will also be exclusively executed from Switzerland. Whether your company needs to securely store valuable materials, perform detailed analysis, or obtain certification for metals, the ISE team in Dubai is ready to meet your needs.
Customs warehouse in Zurich
ISE now operates its own open customs warehouse in Embrach near Zurich. All metals and precious metals that are not toxic, flammable or explosive can be stored in collective warehouses, individual warehouses, and high-security safes and rooms.
The storage facilities include both closed and open bonded warehouses. In closed bonded warehouses, the entry and exit of goods and people are recorded and regulated by Swiss customs. In an open bonded warehouse, the warehouse keeper reports to customs about all goods entering and leaving. The closed bonded warehouse areas are GRASP-certified. ISE is now able to process metallic powders in its own production halls right next to the warehouse.
Research on metal recycling
In addition to its core business, the Institute for Rare Earth Elements and Metals is involved in numerous research studies. Most of the research is focused on metal recycling. In cooperation with international universities, ISE conducts research into the separation of ash residues, slag residues, shredded electrical waste, and battery recycling.
The main focus is on the recovery of rare earth elements and minor metals that are labelled as critical. As an institute in the heart of Europe, ISE shares the concerns of a large industrial region with limited amounts of critical raw materials of its own.
For all companies in Europe, the solution for the future can only be recycling and a more responsible use of resources.
